Town of Orono
Operations Committee Meeting
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 4:30 p.m.
Council Chamber – Municipal Building
Minutes
1. Roll Call
Present: Tom Spitz (Operations Chair), Council Chairman Geoffrey Gordon, Cindy Mehnert,
Tom Perry, Mark Haggerty, Judy Sullivan (arrived at 4:55 pm), Town Manager Sophie Wilson,
Assistant Town Manager Maria Weinberger, Assessor Rick Sands, Public Works Director Rob
Yerxa, and Police Chief Gary Duquette.
2. Assessing Contract with the Town of Milford
Ms. Wilson explained that the Town of Orono has an agreement with the Town of Milford to
provide assessing services through our Assessor. The current agreement runs through June 30,
3012 and provides Milford with 272 hours of professional time (and a minimum of 16 hours
/year of travel time) in exchange for $12,360 per year. While this may not seem like a lot of
time, when factoring in actual annual working time, our Assessor is spending approximately
15% of his available working time (the equivalent of 6 hours per week) with his contractual
obligations to the Town of Milford.
Management strongly supports the need to work with our neighbors to form long lasting and
productive relationships; however, the recommendation is to reallocate this resource inward.
Staff’s priority is to focus on the Town’s data collection efforts to ensure that we maintain
standard, comprehensive, and current assessment records in an electronic and organized format
that will facilitate efficient and transparent management processes. Ms. Wilson noted that it is a
3-5 year project. In order to best meet this goal, the Assessor’s time and attention needs to be
directed at Town of Orono needs; therefore, management is recommending that the Committee
consider providing the Town of Milford notice that the contract will not be renewed for another
year.
Mr. Gordon suggested having a written plan for each year to be able to measure the
accomplishments. Ms. Wilson agreed.
The Committee agreed with the Town Manager’s recommendation to not renew the
Assessing Contract with the Town of Milford and to have the Town Manager write a letter
to the Town of Milford to notify them.
January 30, 2012 - Operations Committee
3. Public Works Solid Waste & Recycling
Landfill
Mr. Yerxa stated that the permitting of the new cell for the landfill is progressing well and is on
schedule to be completed by summer 2012. Staff is also working to include a brush pad and
universal waste collection site at the landfill.
Curbside MSW Collection
Mr. Yerxa stated that developing a transfer facility for MSW at the current landfill site is not an
available option due to regulatory constraints. Given the costs associated with providing this
collection in house, staff recommends the continuation of outsourcing this service to a private
hauler. Mr. Yerxa stated that an analysis of costs and revenues associated with implementing
pay as you throw (PAYT) – or fee for service – for residential property was conducted. The
analysis showed that the tonnage associated with the residential collection is relatively small and,
therefore, the costs of implementing the program outweigh the potential revenue derived from
reasonable user fees for residential customers. The staff recommendation is to continue with a
non-fee based residential collection process and bid out contractual curbside pickup services.
Recycling Program
Mr. Yerxa provided the following information regarding recycling at the last Committee
meeting:
Continue Current Operations:
Continue to provide the current level of service operating in the same way. Curbside pickup of
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) for residential properties will continue to be provided as a
contracted service. The contractor hauls the collected materials to PERC weekly. Sorted
recycling is collected curbside every other week, consolidated into larger trucks, and hauled to a
consolidation site using Public Works employees and equipment. Consolidation sites are located
in Old Town and Bangor. Once at the consolidation site, materials are marketed by the Maine
Resource Recovery Association (MRRA) and revenues are passed on to the Town, less
processing fees.
Program Pros:
 Recycling materials generate $12,500 in revenues annually
 Residents and staff are familiar with the program
 Least expensive solid waste management approach - $155,000 annually for the next 7 years
Program Cons:
 Acceptable materials are limited by consolidation site rules
 Commodities markets are very volatile; if the value of materials falls, costs of the program
rise.
January 30, 2012 - Operations Committee
Curbside MSW Collection with Single Stream Recycling Program:
Curbside pickup of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) for residential properties will continue to be
provided as a contracted service. The contractor hauls the collected materials to PERC weekly.
Unsorted recycling is collected curbside every other week, consolidated into larger trucks, and
hauled to a consolidation site using Public Works employees and equipment. Consolidation sites
are located in Hermon and potentially in Old Town.
Program Pros:
 Efficient collection and processing
 Convenient for residents – no more sorting could contribute to larger volumes
 Larger array of acceptable materials
Program Cons:
 More expensive than a sorted collection program – approximately $182,000 annually
 No revenues are generated by unsorted materials
 Larger volumes draw away from the MSW stream and contribute to an already growing GAT
shortfall. This leads to increased penalties for these GAT shortfalls.
 Could lead to contracted collection services due to limited consolidation opportunities
locally.
Recommendation:
Due to the added program costs, loss of revenues, and the uncertainty of a reliable consolidation
site for unsorted recyclables, staff recommends that Council continue the program as it exists.
Costs and the availability of a reliable consolidation site can be reevaluated in preparation for
next year’s budget. As other communities move toward single stream recycling, more cost
efficient and reliable options could become available.
(Judy Sullivan arrived at 4:55 p.m.)
The Committee agreed to support the recommendation of the Public Works Director
regarding the Town’s on-going MSW, landfill, and recycling programs and revisit it in
another year.
4. Report of Public Works Facility Assessment and Feasibility Study
Ms. Wilson stated that last fall, with Council authorization, the Town entered into an agreement
with Sebago Technics for technical assistance in determining the space/program needs and site
feasibility for a new Public Works Facility. Over the last few months, staff has been working
with Owens McCullough on this project and they are ready to provide the Committee members
with an initial report of findings. (A copy of the study was provided.)
In open session, the Committee learned about the programming for the Public Works Facility,
including visual conceptual floor plans for the building and grounds, as well as the process used
to evaluate the feasibility of site locations. Once the general information was reviewed and
January 30, 2012 - Operations Committee
discussed, the Committee meeting was closed. Then, a Special Council Meeting was opened and
Councilors entered into Executive Session to discuss the particulars of the individual sites that
were evaluated.
5. Adjourn at 5:45 p.m.
Minutes are not verbatim. A tape-recorded version is available in the Town Office.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy W. Ward
Administrative Assistant